Brain Corp, an artificial intelligence company specializing in the development of self-driving technology for robots, has raised $114 million in a Series C funding round led by the SoftBank Vision Fund.

Brain has developed AI and self-driving technology to enable robots to perceive their environment, learn to control their motion, and navigate using visual cues and landmarks while avoiding people and obstacles.

Despite an endless stream of stories in the media warning of humanity’s impending irrelevance in an automated future, it seems American workers remain rather blasé about the prospect of being automated out of existence in the workplace.

New research by Randstad US contradicts many reports that American workers fear losing their job due to automation.

The World Economic Forum, the global nonprofit foundation whose annual meeting in Davos is attended by global leaders from business and politics, has published a list of companies which it considers to be the most pioneering in the field of technology.

In publishing its Technology Pioneers 2017 list, WEF has chosen 30 different companies to highlight from a variety of industries including biotechnology, agriculture, energy, transport, as well as a number of companies from the robotics and automation sector.

So the rumours were true about the home automation device. Some of the other rumours ahead of the ongoing Apple Worldwide Developers Conference were also true, but then there have been some surprises as well.

First, the home automation device. Apple has launched what it calls HomePod – a voice assistant much like Amazon Alexa-enabled Echo and Google Home – within which Siri will live.

The Internet of Things and data analytics are transforming the manufacturing space, and data is the new currency.

Currently, human intervention is needed for logical and reasonable decision making. However, with the rise of cognitive technologies, machines will be empowered to detect constantly changing manufacturing scenarios and respond in real time with minimum human intervention.

Business optimism may be fueling recent spike in number of executives reporting increased use of automation

The number of US companies reporting an increase in their use of automation doubled in the first quarter of 2017, fueled in part by a recent spike in business confidence, according to a report released by global talent solutions firm Randstad Sourceright.

Based on a global survey of C-suite and human capital leaders, Randstad Sourceright’s Talent Trends research finds that 36 percent of US companies have increased the use of artificial intelligence and robotics over the last 12 months, up from 18 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016.

Omron says it has developed a machine automation controller equipped with a machine learning artificial intelligence algorithms.

The company claims it is the first of its kind in the industry.

Omron says the AI-equipped controller achieves real-time integration between a programmable logic controller function, which controls production lines and equipment changing in microseconds on factory floors, and an AI processing function.

One of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, Bosch, provided a massive stage today for Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang to showcase its new artificial intelligence platform for self-driving cars.

Speaking in the heart of Berlin to several thousand attendees at Bosch Connected World — an annual conference dedicated to the Internet of Things — Huang detailed how deep learning is fueling an AI revolution in the auto industry.

Jetson TX2 offers twice the performance of its predecessor, or it can run at more than twice the power efficiency, while drawing less than 7.5 watts of power. This allows Jetson TX2 to run larger, deeper neural networks on edge devices.

ZF teams up with Nvidia on artificial intelligence system for autonomous cars, trucks and industrial applications

ZF says its ProAI system for automated driving is built on high-performance Nvidia Drive PX 2 AI computing platform, and will enable vehicles to “see, think, and act”.

ZF is one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers and a global leader in active and passive safety technology, and has been working with Nvidia to develop artificial intelligence systems for the transportation industry for some time.